From Opus

Alternative name: Nepal Pitta

Pitta nipalensis

Hydrornis nipalensis

[edit] Identification

22 - 25cm. One of the largest Pittas.

• Mostly rusty-buff plumage
• Lustrous green above with rufous head
• A few blackish marks behind cheek and on chest
• Throat and vent paler than rest of underparts
• Male has extensive, bright turquoise-blue nape

Females have a greener nape and browner upperparts. Juveniles are very dark above and on breast with rufous-buff streaks on crown and spots on upperparts, whiter spots on breast and whiter throat and lower underparts with dark mottling.

[edit] Similar species

Similar to Blue-rumped Pitta but blue only on nape (not on crown) and bill much darker.

[edit] Distribution

From central Nepal and adjacent southeast Tibet est to northeast India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal), Bangladesh (Chittagong Hills), Burma, south China (Yunnan, Guangxi), Laos and northern Vietnam.
In some parts common, in other rare. Status difficult to assess due to its skulking and secretive behaviour.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

There are 2 subspecies:

• P. n. nipalensis:

• Himalayas (central Nepal to south-eastern Tibet, north-eastern India and Myanmar)

• P. n. hendeei:

• Southern China (south-eastern Yunnan, south-western Guangxi) to northern Vietnam and northern Laos

Placed in genus Hydrornis by Gill and Donsker^[3].

[edit] Habitat

Tropical and subtropical secondary forest, bamboo growth and clearings with dense vegetation. Often near water. In northern Vietnam on limestone rock, in India in riparian woodland and swamp-forest.

[edit] Behaviour

Skulking and secretive.
Feeds on ants, beetles, other insects, grubs, worms, snails and lizards. Forages on forest floor, in swamps and brooks. Uses large bill to overturn dead leaves and to dig into soil.
Breeding season from April to June, double-brooding reported. The domed nest has a side entrance and is made of bamboo leaves, grass and roots. It's placed on the ground or low in a bush or a tree. Lays 3 - 5 eggs.
In India a local migrant otherwise a resident species.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Dickinson, EC, ed. 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd ed., with updates to October 2008 (Corrigenda 8). Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691117010
3. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2010. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.7). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
4. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and D Christie, eds. 2003. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334504

• List of references

[edit] External Links